Reed, Inhofe Praise Senate Passage of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

The United States Senate today passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 by a vote of 88-11.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) released the following statement praising Senate passage of the legislation:

“I am pleased that the Senate has voted in an overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to pass this year’s defense bill.  Our nation faces an enormous range of security challenges, and it is more important than ever that we provide our military men and women with the support they need to keep Americans safe. 

“To that end, this bill makes great progress.  It addresses a broad range of pressing issues, from strategic competition with China and Russia, to disruptive technologies like hypersonics, AI, and quantum computing, to modernizing our ships, aircraft, and vehicles.  It provides our forces with the resources and support they need to defend our nation, makes historic reforms to help improve the lives of our servicemembers, and takes important steps to care for their families.

“I am grateful to Ranking Member Inhofe for his admirable leadership, thoughtfulness, and partnership throughout this process.  I am proud to now send the NDAA to President Biden for his signature.”

Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) also commented on the bill:

“For the 61st year now, Congress has fulfilled our constitutional duty to provide for the common defense by passing the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill provides our military with the resources and authorities they need to defend our country — which is more important now than it’s ever been before, at least in my lifetime. This bill sends a clear message to our allies — that the United States remains a reliable, credible partner — and to our adversaries — that the U.S. military is prepared and fully able to defend our interests around the world. But most importantly, it sends a strong message of support and gratitude to our servicemembers and their families, who sacrifice so much and deserve the best.

“I’m grateful to Chairman Reed, who has fought day in and out for this bill and for our troops. I’m proud to work alongside him to send this bill to the president’s desk, and I’m just as proud to call him a friend. I thank our colleagues for their support and look forward to seeing this bill signed into law as soon as possible.”

The National Defense Authorization Act supports a total of $777.7 billion in fiscal year 2022 funding for national defense.  Within this topline, the legislation authorizes $740.0 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $27.8 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE).  Highlights include:

• Providing funding to support a 2.7 percent pay raise for both military servicemembers and the DOD civilian workforce;
• Directing historic reform to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and how the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault and other offenses, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and many other crimes;
• Authorizing critical investments in submarines and battle force ships, aircraft, vehicles, and other equipment to maintain our combat advantage;
• Extending and modifying the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to improve the posture, capabilities, and activities of U.S. forces and our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region;
• Reauthorizing the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) to support deterrence in Europe;
• Strengthening and securing the national supply chain and supporting the defense industrial base;
• Modernizing our military technology and capabilities, including hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and biotechnologies;
• Establishing a commission to study U.S. involvement in Afghanistan from 2001-2021;
• Authorizing more than $3.5 billion of additional military construction projects above the President’s budget request;
• Maintaining and modernizing our secure, credible nuclear deterrent;
• Advancing the development of various missile defense programs and systems;
• Establishing a Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform to provide an independent review and assessment of the PPBE process of DOD; and
• Advancing the Department of Defense’s cybersecurity strategy and capabilities.

The full text of the FY22 NDAA can be found here.

A summary of the FY22 NDAA can be found here.